Tohatsu reference thread

[Jarrah Jack]

Along the lines of the Zuk reference thread I'll start one about the Tohy.


40 hp 2001 mdl carby motor.......On a 4.2 mtr Quintrex fishabout... The motor has done about 200 hours all up and I've owned it for four years.

Had an overheat incident a few years ago after a so called mechanic installed the impeller incorrectly and it slipped on the spline!!! Luckily I was going real slow at the time when the motor stopped as I got it going again soon after. Damage was a year later I had to replace the headgasket and get the head flattened.

Otherwise the motor has been fine and needed minimal maintaince . Haven't got any performance figures as there are no gauges. It has the standard prop.

Overall I think it is a good solid motor.

[rosco1974]

have a 140 on a 610 makocraft,great motor ,only issue i have had is the nylon bush in the prop went on it,is a 2008model done 280hrs,get good fuel economy around 17ltrs at 4500-4800 and wot around the 28ltr doing 5700rpm,will be puttin a new tohy on in a few more yrs,hard to go past the price of them,$10900 for a new 1 at the moment,
cheers rosco

[nigelr]

30hp on a 4.2 tiller. Never had a problem. Mainly fish solo so sufficient power for my needs, cheap as chips to run and service, would be my choice for next motor. Serviced annually, impellor re-newed annually, reliable and effective, very satisfied.

[Moonlighter]

Just a few months ago sold my JBS 4.8m Plate cuddy with Tohatsu TLDI 90, 2008 model.

Great motor, averaged 3.25 km/litre! I put nearly 350 hours on her, never missed a beat. Recommended oil is Valvoline so running costs cheap as chips.

Only comment is that the Toey props are pretty ordinary performers - top end is fine, but bottom end out-of-the-hole acceleration is ordinary, and they cavitate pretty easily.

I replaced my std toey alloy prop with a Merc Vengeance SS prop and it transformed the performance from just OK to "sports car" standard. Out of the hole excellent, and better speed and accel across the whole rev range. Best thing I ever did!

ML

[Coontakinta]

Like Moonlighter, I too have a TLDI90. Mine is an 04 fitted to a 2005 5m razerline. Extreemly ordinary performance from the stock standard alloy 15" prop to the point that we had to drop down to a 14" to attain max rpm at WOT. Couldnt trim leg out far without cavitation and cavitated in tight turns at even medium speed. Discussions with Moonlighter and investigating various other threads in these pages saw me replace the alloy with a similar S/S vengance and havent looked back. WOT speed is almost the same, but i can trim the leg out much further, the thing turns without sliping, and holeshot os much better. Also seems to make the hull ride better because it seems to have some punch now that was missing with the alloy. Maybe thats just my imagination:-? .

Been a great donk from new, all be it lacking the punch of a similar etec, though some would disagree. Reccommended valvoline semi synthetic oil is cheap. Well cheap in relation to the competition and the initial purchase price makes them hard to over look.

The downside in my view is the fact they are relatively unknown, even amoungst relatively hardcore boaties, well they are here in SA. Continually asked about the brand. Therefore resale is relatively poor. Good dealers with sound knowledge and who are prepared to stand by you through thick & thin are hard to find. Small clientel makes getting information difficult. Compared to other DI's in its class, is a poor performer, ETEC & optimax seem to have greater grunt. Again I have had other owners disagree. My spin on this is that the later models came out with a better gear ratio and its these that seem to be able to match the others.

Fuel ecconomy is good, although not quite as good as those quoted by moonlighter, then his hull is smaller and perhaps lighter. Think I was getting mid - high 2's/litre at last check. No idea of hours as I didnt fit an hour meter at purchase and use the inbuilt feature to check it, which I havent done for a while, but based on last check & useage would assume around 2-250hrs.

Would I buy again? Hard to say. If the $ difference between the competition were as great as the last deal easily yes. If not, probably, but I would be investigating its power far more greatly than I did this one and with the problems I've read about some of the competition, then the answer might just be yes again.:)

[Jono_SS]

I have a 50 TLDI, now with around 500 hours. I bought it new in 2004 on a stessco, then swapped it to my real tinny (the AMM) in 2007.

Like the others have said, performance was not optimal with the standard ally prop, particularly when I put it on the heavy, deep-v'd little AMM. A smaller pitched Solas SS prop fixed that problem! Plus added a foil for good measure.

It's also a great trolling motor - relatively quiet (for a 2 stroke), no smoke or smell.

And, a huge plus is definitely the servicing from River City Marine. Not only is the location handy, but the assistance I've got from Steve and team for all things boating over the years has been fantastic.

[Dave_H]

Bought an M90 (carbied 3cyl two stroke) 13 months ago and fitted to an early 70's Caribbean Cobra fibreglass fish/ski runabout. Found the same issues everyone else seems to have with the standard alloy prop, all good (much better holeshot and mid to top end accelleration/speed) when after the first 10 hours I fitted a Mercury Vengeance stainless steel prop (was part of the deal for my $8.5K fitted that I got some on water testing so I could decide on the best prop to fit to best suit my needs).

Servicing has been very cheap and hassle free. I have had one small issue first trip out with a sticky trim solenoid that needed using and hasn't played-up since. The low speed idle is a little rough but apart from that is a very responsive engine with a great punch out of the hole all the way to max rpm. Oil is Valvoline semi synthetic so easy to find and pay for and, from what I can gather is averaging around 65/70:1 fuel mix for the type of use I give it. Fuel economy seems to be in the low to mid 2km/ltr range (I don't push all that hard to be honest), but jam the throttle down on the stop and trim out hard (43 knots on flat water) and it likes it's share of fuel, however no more so than any other carbied 2 stroke.

Would I buy another one? Yes, probably a TLDI as I am not really that worried about resale, just value for money and reliabilty.

Regards,

Dave

P.S. Forgot to mention, the Datadot DNA (enough for the whole boat/radios and other gear) sent through after the purchase later from Lakeside Marine and the details included and forwarded to and for my insurance was a nice touch that I wasn't expecting!;D

[purnong]

Another 50 TLDI owner here and so far very happy with it although I have only done around 12 hours
The motor is on a Brooker 450 Seaman open tinny with tiller steer,elec start and PTT
Did a 110 km round trip up the Murray when I was running it in for about 20 litres of fuel and bugger all oil so I was quite happy with that
interesting reading about the props though as I reckon mine is propped about right
I have very good holeshot and pretty mean mid range throttle response with just over 60kmh top speed via gps
Just wondering if it is worth going for a better brand prop in the same size or would it be worth going up a size as the motor really isn't working too hard on this boat